The Pan-American Judo Congress that took place in Miami, U.S.A. this Saturday, elected Costa Rica to host the Senior Pan-American Judo Championship of Katas and Veterans in 2018.

The designation was possible after the successful organization by the Costa Rican Judo Federation of the 2015 Pan-American Championship.
“Once more Costa Rica shows the world that we have the ability to organize high level events; receiving the best Pan-American judo and to have big names in the sport in our country is a luxury and an honor that shows the trust that the federations in the continent have in our organization”, stated Dudley López, President of the Costa Rica Judo Federation (FECOJUDO).

Being locals in this event is a big challenge not just in terms of organization but also in terms of the level of the sport in the country since the eyes of this martial art will be on our country.

“It means a lot that because we have to compete in an even where we’ll be at home, and even if we have to face the representations of Brasil and Cuba, we have to show our real level to continue growing”, expressed López.

The congress had the participation of Marius Vizer, President of the International Judo Federation, who indicated that the support of this entity to the development of this martial art in our country will continue to increase as a recognition to the organizational structure and level presented in the last years.

FECOJUDO continues to work on improving the level of the sport in the country. The National Judo Championship will be taking place February 25th and 26th at the BN Arena. The Federation has also announced the presence in the country of Japanese black belt sixth Dan Shojiro Mino who will be staying for a period of six months to share his knowledge and experience in the discipline with Costa Rican athletes and help them raise their level.